Taylor Swift Joining Meryl Streep, Jeff Bridges and Alexander Skarsgård in The Giver

It's better to give than receive and the country star will be giving it her all opposite some of Hollywood's finest actors

By Josh Grossberg Sep 27, 2013 5:51 PMTags
Meryl Streep, Jeff Bridges, Alexander Skarsgard, Taylor SwiftWireImage; Getty Images

Given her young fan base, casting Taylor Swift in a YA franchise is a no-brainer.

After making her film acting debut in 2011's Valentine's Day, the pop princess has now been cast opposite the queen of the silver screen herself Meryl Streep in a feature adaptation of Lois Lowry's bestselling dystopian young adult novel, The Giver.

Jeff Bridges, Alexander Skarsgård, Katie Holmes, Brenton Thwaites, Odeya Rush and Cameron Monaghan are also aboard the movie.

The plot centers on a young boy named Jonah (Thwaites) who lives in a seemingly harmonious society in which all pain and suffering have been eliminated in favor of "Sameness," resulting in a world of conformity and contentment, but also one of suppressed emotions.

When Jonas is tapped for the life assignment as the Receiver of Memories, he meets the previous receiver, aka The Giver (Bridges), who gives him the power of knowledge, including dark secrets contained within his engineered utopia. Jonas is now faced with a decision: Does he stay in this shallow, terrifying community, or run away to the real world and face uncertain danger?

No word yet on Swift's role, but Streep will play the Chief Elder who is Jonas' antagonist.

The Giver has sold over 10 million copies worldwide since its release in 1993 and the following year won the prestigious Newbury Medal.

Principal photography on the Weinstein Company and Walden Media coproduction is set to start on Oct. 7 in Cape Town, South Africa.

The Giver is scheduled to hit theaters Aug. 15, 2014.